Midnight Sun - A review

Listen, I'm a Twihard, but the MID in Midnight is the best way to describe this book.

I had to DNF. It's something that I never do, but I have barely read since May because I refuse to read more than one book at a time (I know, it's a problem).

I made it to the 60% mark of Midnight Sun. I was so excited to start this, looking forward to reading Edward's perspective of Twilight, but holy shit.

First of all, hearing Edward's perspective is so much creepier than the moments he acts creepy in Twilight. He is actually deranged and a sicko and Bella should stay far away from him.

Secondly, why doesn't he know how to shut the fuck up? This book is, quite literally, double the length of Twilight. While I find the backstory pieces very interesting, Stephanie Meyer spends way too much time going through Edward's emotions during scenes we already know and love.

It took me nearly 2 hours to read the meadow scene. Literally, it was nearly 100 pages long. That's about half a book right there! Talk about unnecessary. There was no need for that. He's basically saying the same things over and over and over again. It's insufferable. This book could have been a fraction of the length. The focus should have been on the stuff we didn't get to see in Twilight, like his relationship with Carlisle, Esme, and the siblings.

Thirdly, did I mention Edward is creepy? Their love story is tumultuous, but understanding that this is a piece of Mormon American literature generally helps people get over the timeline. However, the way he professes his obsessions about this girl he doesn't know as love almost immediately is so offputting. Plus, the emphasis on how much he wants to kill Bella is wild. We get it, he's a vampire, we don't need to read this blood lust for murder being portrayed as borderline pseudo-sexual. It's bizarre.

Not only that, but the way he talks about other women is so gross. Like, he's constantly insulting people who aren't Bella. We get it, you love her, but why do you have to put other people down in the process? It's very weird and makes me dislike his character more than was necessary.

So much more could have been done with the mindreading thing. We could have seen more of their relationship outside of the plot already well-known from the original novel. There is nothing new or exciting to keep me reading. It's the same story, drawn out for no reason whatsoever, and it's boring. The prose isn't keeping me hooked. I have literally avoided this book like the black plague.

I don't like not finishing books, I really don't. Even if I don't like something, I try to read through it to the end. I can't with this one, no matter how hard I try. I've had this story sitting in the drafts since the inception of the Book Club community. I have read maybe 5 pages since drafting it. To not finish this book is a gift to myself, and I'm happy to accept it.

How this has 4.8 Stars on Amazon is beyond me. Like I said, I'm a Twihard. I rewatch the movies yearly, and I just reread the books a year ago. They're bad but they're great; I love them with every fiber of my being. I could not love this book, no matter how hard I tried. Don't read it. Just don't. It's literally not worth it. I'm off to get through my TBR now. What a waste of nearly 4 months of my life.